Re: Linux compatible mainboards
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Kelly Clowers wrote:
<snip>
> I don't know specifically about buggy bioses, but in general, Foxconn
> is not a brand associated with quality, while Gigabyte, Asus and Intel are.
Aside from the quality issue, two+ years ago there was considerable
internet chatter about BIOSes on some Foxconn models that were
unfriendly to Linux. According to the Foxconn article in the Wikipedia
Foxconn was forced by some of the companies which used Foxconn boards in
their own brands to fix those BIOSes. In any event if the information
in that article is even half true, Foxconn is a manufacturer to avoid.
<snip>
> Intel chipsets make sense for Intel Motherboards, the days when you
> needed to look to Via or someone else to provide the needed features
> are mostly gone (Nvidia is, for now, still the best for more powerful
> integrated graphics with Intel CPUs. But Linux users probably don't
> want Nvidia graphics anyway).
As I mentioned in my "another thought" post, I am planning to use a
Nvidia GPU anyway, mainly in order to have two monitors.
> Driver-wise it isn't really a matter of the north- or south- bridge, it is
> about the individual chips that need drivers. Things like ATA controllers
> and wired Ethernet controllers are generally a non-issue nowadays.
> The biggest things you need to look at are the GPU (all Intel GPUs
> except the mobile GMA500 have good support), and wireless 802.11
> chipsets (not usually built in on desktops, of course)
Good to know.
> In the case of the GA-G41M-ES2H, the Southbridge is old (ICH7; ICH11
> will be out soon), and the Realtek audio and ethernet chips aren't the
> greatest. Nonetheless, they do the job and shouldn't have any major
> compatibly problems with recent kernels. It should be noted that
> boards with newer ICHs and something other than Realtek are a
> fair bit more expensive.
In view of your comments I looked further into what is available
locally. The model I was originally looking at was a GA-G31M-ES2L for
CA$59.00. I found however a GA-EP43-UD3L with the ICH10 and many other
more advanced features including better Realtek audio for CA$83.00. As
I am using an external GPU which GPU internal chipset is provided is not
really an issue for me. I think the latter model is better value for the
price.
Regards, Ken Heard
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